NC junior sports six offers

Jamestown (N.C.) Ragsdale all-star running back Toney Baker may just be a junior, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at his scholarship offer list. He stands 5-foot-10, weighs 218 pounds, and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds, but those are not his most impressive stats. He boasts a 33-inch vertical leap and bench presses 405 pounds, and his complete package is making college recruiters drool.

Baker said NC State, North Carolina, and Virginia are the early leaders for his signature, but the interest he is receiving is not limited to those schools. Although just a junior, Wake Forest, Virginia, Tennessee, NC State, UNC, and Clemson have all extended scholarship offers.

You might wonder why all the early interest, but that is only if you haven’t seen his numbers. A three year starter, he gained all-state honors as a sophomore, and has progressed every year since he was a freshman.

This season as a junior he has compiled an amazing 3,418 yards and 41 touchdowns. This came after contributing 2,007 yards and 32 scores as a sophomore, and 1,800 yards and 25 trips to the end zone as a freshman. He is also a track star and runs the 100 meter dash in 11.0 seconds, but uses whatever tools he can muster to help the team.

“Really whatever it takes to win,” he commented. “I will block or run, whatever I can to help the best I can.” He gets his attitude from his father Toney Baker, Sr., who played running back at ECU.

“It will really be if I feel comfortable there and if I get help academically and on field,” he commented on his ultimate decision criteria. “I would also like to play right away.” He attended two NC State games and one UNC game this season, and went to the Nike Camp this spring.

A 3.0 GPA student, Baker has yet to take the SAT, but appears to be in good shape to become an academic qualifier.